Step Aside, Grapes
Rosalind Heinert, the co-owner of Blueberry Sky Farm Winery, says the law forbids her from making health claims about the dandelion, garlic, blueberry or other unique wines she and her husband produce at their organic family farm in Ripley, N.Y.
“It’s illegal to tout the various health properties,” she says, then adds, “but if people ask, then I’ll tell them what we’ve heard and read about.”
So, we ask.
“I understand blueberries are high in antioxidants, dandelions are supposed to be good for the blood, and elderberries and garlic may lower cholesterol.” Rosalind, 62, then gives a hearty laugh. “Don’s walking proof of the benefits of elderberry wine. He’s 63 years old, but when you see him working in the fields, he looks like our 20-year-old son.”
Well, pass us a bottle!
Don’s interest in viticulture began as a hobby when he was studying chemistry at North Dakota University. He later became a veterinarian, but eventually grew dissatisfied with traditional medicine and became certified to practice veterinary homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicine. He treats animals at his office in nearby Union City, Pa.
Like the plotline of Green Acres, the Heinerts bought their 75-acre farm in 1992 to work as a hobby and to give their four young children a taste of rural life. Don refused to use pesticides on the four acres of blueberries that are harvested to make the winery’s signature Sweet Blueberry ($10 a bottle) and Dry Blueberry ($10) wines.
“We were organic before it became popular,” she says. “Our soil has been tested every year, and it always comes out perfect. We buy a garlic spray from the Amish and have had no problems with insects.”
In addition, the Heinerts buy locally grown fruit if the growers can prove their crops haven’t been touched by insecticides, and get elderberries and apples from bushes and trees in neighbors’ yards. They’ll even buy from kids in the neighborhood who find fruit in the wilds if the youngsters can prove their yield is all natural.
“We use fruit from an elderly lady down the road who hasn’t pruned or sprayed her blackberry bushes in over 30 years, and her fruits are big and delicious,” she says. “When people sample our wines, they say, ‘This tastes like what my grandfather made years ago, only not as strong.’”
Besides making fruit wines, the Heinerts produce a white Sweet Dandelion wine ($11) made from dandelions harvested off their lawns, a tomato cooking wine ($7) that can also be served with cheese and crackers, and a jalapeno cooking wine ($7) that can be used as a marinade, mixed into a Bloody Mary or imbibed straight.
“The jalapeño wine has some heat, but it’s pleasant,” Rosalind says. “I know ladies in their 70s who drink it, and I’ve seen 6-foot-4 biker-types get tears in their eyes after a few sips. It’ll keep you warm in the cold weather.”
The winery is small by choice; it produces about 400 cases a year. The intimate tasting room has a homey, country flavor and contains handmade wood furniture. Or stand at the bar and sample some complimentary cheese while you’re tasting the wares. During the summer, baked goods are available. And weather permitting, an outdoor patio overlooks acres of blueberry bushes, and the air is filled with the sweet scent of ripening fruit.
Visitors are also encouraged to walk among the bushes, and during August and September, depending on the growing season, visitors can pick their own blueberries. Imagine your kids bent studiously over a bush, deciding which berries are best, while you sit nearby with a pail, enjoying the fruit of their labor and of the farm.